#redblazer – it's gonna be a thing

July 8, 2016July 8, 2016

Beverly Hills, that’s where I want to be

Good morning Hollywood. As always, step 1 on Day 10 was breakfast. A lot of people had recommended a Farmer’s Market that was only a few miles away, so we decided to try that, and if there wasn’t anything there, we could always go and find something else. We were so pleasantly surprised by what our options were, but we decided to go for a bacon and avocado omelet at a small diner. All that protein was exactly what we needed that early in the morning. After we ate we walked around for a bit to see what other shops there were, and when we turned a corner, we discovered that there was a car show going on; everything from a 1920s truck to a 70s low rider was on display. I will admit, I was car shopping for a bit. Refreshed with food and coffee, we figured it was time to head to our next destination, the Hollywood Sign.

As we started driving up the hills, I was so surprised by how windy and steep some of these roads were. As we approached the trailhead it became clear that we would have to turn around and park much further down the road, but since it would only add to the work out, we were game. Our hike started like most do in the summer, by us putting on sunscreen. This was also the point in the roadtrip where we had decided to start playing the familiar “punch buggy” game, and just because we were out of the car didn’t mean we were going to stop playing. After a few solid jabs, we arrived at the trailhead, where we could finally start the real hike up to the sign. It was definitely a challenging hike, but we were up for the task; the more we drove, the more we wanted to get out and walk and workout on our tourist days. Our first stop was the very top of the hill, where you’re standing behind the sign looking out over LA. You don’t realize how big the city is until you see it from that high. Everything on the west coast is so spread out and driveable, because it could be. Los Angeles proper is massive, but it’s divided into so many subsections that aren’t towns, but rather just neighborhood within the limits. As we looked out west, we were slightly surprised to see the lack of an ocean, but figuring that the smog had something to do with it, we shrugged it off. A few photo ops later and we started our descent to the base of the sign, where even more pictures where taken before we got back to the car.

Exhausted after our 5.6 mile trek up the Hollywood Hills, we went back to our AirBnB, took a shower, and took a quick break before we tried to figure out what our move was going to be for the night. Our good friends had been out to LA a few weeks earlier, and had told us that we should definitely head out to the Santa Monica Pier, and see if we could get out on the beach at sunset. As we started driving towards the ocean we noticed that the blue skies that had been sitting above us so calmly, were suddenly all swallowed up by some darker gray clouds that were coming up from the ocean. It was a good thing we had brought
jackets, because we definitely needed them. The clouds stretched on for what seemed like forever, but it did make for a pleasant walk (without the sunburn of course).

We walked around the Pier for a bit before decided that a local seafood restaurant was the way to go. I had Paella and Mike had fish taco’s, which were quickly devoured from our tin trays. Since it was still relatively early on in the night, we decided to go walk around the Pier for a bit. Staying off the sand because it was pretty cold out, we did a few laps before heading up to the main road. As we were walking around, Mike turned to me and asked “did you know those guys?” I said no because I had no idea who he was talking about. “Those guys back there,” he said, and when I turned around I recognized some of them. Turns our that we had passed some fellow classmates of ours at Northeastern, and since I was wearing my NU Hockey jacket, it was pretty easy to identify me as a “student”. The reason Mike asked me if I knew them is because as we walked past, one of them had said “do we know them?” to which one of them had responded with “yea, she does the TV for
the hockey games.” Just goes to show how small of a world we live in when we can run into fellow Northeastern classmates across the country on the Santa Monica Pier.

One of my favorite parts about our walk was being able to look at all of the houses that were nestled right between the beach and route 1, also known as the famous Pacific Coast Highway. They were absolutely beautiful with roof decks and windows that stretched from floor to ceiling. The only downside to living these was the constant noise of the traffic on the road, the small driveway, and the lack of privacy due to its proximity on the beach. Regardless, we were still happily house shopping as we were walking along the bluff. There were plenty of cool memorials and even a canon on the path, so we continued to entertain ourselves even though the weather wasn’t as optimal as we would’ve liked.

Soon enough it was time to head back home. We were both pretty tired and as usual, a long day of driving awaited us. We were a bit more excited for this one though because we were going to take the most scenic route possible up the PCH all the way to Big Sur and Monterey. California was proving to be one of the most fun all around states to be in, and we couldn’t wait to see more of it.